Moviemakers are hoping that watching a city getting destroyed will be popular at movie theaters. That seems to be the case for Godzilla vs. Kong, a movie about a battle between the two huge monsters. It is one of the few blockbusters to be released while COVID-19-related restrictions are still in effect. Godzilla vs. Kong opened last week with $9.6 million in ticket sales. That is a one-day record during the pandemic. Before its U.S. opening, the film made $123.1 million internationally in late March. Joshua Grode is the head of Legendary Entertainment, which produced Godzilla vs. Kong. He thinks the early success of the movie shows that people still want to go to the theater to see movies. “This tells everybody: the moviegoing business is here, and, yes, it may be different post-pandemic,” he said. “But there is a viable industry there.” For the first time since last winter, a big Hollywood movie release is showing in more than 3,000 theaters. However, that is still about 1,200 fewer than normal for a movie like Godzilla vs. Kong.